Armenia's current emigration rate of 4-5% of the whole
population annually is the highest in the world. Considering the dire political and economic situation in the country, should we really be surprised?

Is the new constitution an attempt by Armenian capital and oligarchs to
signal to EU elites and European capital that they are determined to fulfil
transnational capital’s wildest dreams? A conversation.

... Nor Zartonk [New Awakening] the recently emerged leftwing Armenian youth association was there in Gezi Park. And they were one of the main actors in Gezi. They had a tent and when you entered the commune the first thing you saw was Nor Zartonk... From the Squares and Beyond partnership.

On July 3-4, the LSE will
jointly host a seminar with openDemocracy on the impact of the
movements in the squares from 2011 onwards. Do they contribute to the
democratic renewal of our democracies and if so how? A conversation.

Armenia is trapped between its traditional ties to the East and a desire to integrate with the West. In the light of an increasingly aggressive Russian foreign policy, what are Armenia's European options?

Just like the skeletons that
were discovered in Diyarbakır in 2012 nearly 100 years after they were buried, Turkey’s past is haunting its
future and demanding that we remember the tragic events of the Armenian Genocide.

His new film The Cut directly confronts the Armenian genocide. We talk to acclaimed Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin about genocide commemorations, the Turkish-German community, and what Turkey's notorious Article 301 is doing to debate.

When people are dying in their thousands, why should we care about the destruction of artefacts? Cultural violence has long been a component in the obliteration of communities; it legitimates the denial of diversity and makes them much harder to rebuild.

Early last year Armenia entered into accession talks with the Russian-led Customs Union – a precursor to the EEU. But does this path hold the key to greater economic prosperity for Yerevan or is it just a dead end?

The takeover by anti-Damascus rebels of an Armenian village in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, has triggered a propaganda war which focuses on the position of Syria's Armenians. This highlights core aspects of Armenians' experience since the 1915 genocide, says Vicken Cheterian.

Many civilians were killed in the war between the newly independent states of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. But the disputed period raises larger questions of common suffering, says Gerard Libaridian, adviser to Armenia's president at the time, who reflects on one incident that casts a long shadow.

The complicated relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan that have erupted since the break-up of the USSR belie the fact that in the past the two nations often coexisted more or less harmoniously. Maxim Edwards visited the mountain mausoleum of Baba-Hadji, an ancient symbol of erstwhile good relations

If the primary concern is to establish peace in the region, then the central question is the social status of the people rather than internationally established political norms, such as territorial integrity.

Work must be done to overcome divides even many decades after official agreements to end violence have been signed. But the process is neither simple nor direct, with social media as easily a tool for vitriol as for furthering understanding of others. What, and who, can help?

For close on a millennium Azeris and Armenians co-existed reasonably peaceably. At the end of the Soviet period tensions erupted and they have been bubbling ever since. No need, thinks William Gourlay, because they are actually quite similar. Is it just a case of ‘must try harder’?

Instigating dialogue across entrenched conflict built on ethnic stereotypes is long and precarious. The pardon given to Ramil Safarov of Azerbaijan is a blow to the sense of trust built painstakingly in the region. Now peacebuilders have to weather the storm.

The Armenian authorities' capacity to secure the right result in the country's parliamentary election is matched by their failure to meet citizens' basic needs. The consequences are a priority for Armenia's civil society, says Krzysztof Bobinski.

With the current focus on policy interactions between Russia, the US and the EU in the post-Soviet space, many wonder what future awaits the countries of the former USSR after Vladimir Putin’s re-ascension to the Russian presidency in the 4th March election. One question is whether Putin will succeed in shaping a new, distinctive strategic space with the curious name of ‘the Eurasian Union.’ Elkhan Nuriyev discusses its implications.

The reason the French genocide law has proved so popular amongst Armenians is that it represents the prospect of a final catharsis to a tragic history. In reality, however, it is yet another obstacle to reaching a conclusion.

A diplomatic process designed to normalise relations between Armenia and Turkey led to the signing of two protocols in 2009. Its failure is rooted in the miscalculations of both sides, says Vicken Cheterian.

World Forum for Democracy 2017

This year, the theme is ‘populism’. Is the problem fake news or fake democracy? What media, what political parties, what politicians do we need to re-connect with citizens and make informed choices in 21st century democracy?

Civil Society Futures is a national conversation about how English civil society can flourish in a fast changing world.Come and add your voice»

Full coverage of the non-hierarchical conference held in Barcelona on 18-22 June 2017.